Justin Baldoni Makes Rare Appearance With Family at Dancing With the Stars' First Super Bowl Night After 'It Ends With Us' Drama

Justin Baldoni made a rare public appearance with his family on Tuesday, October 13, attending a special episode of Dancing With the Stars as the competition celebrated its first-ever Super Bowl Night.

The 42-year-old actor and director joined wife Emily Baldoni and their two children, Maiya, 11, and Maxwell, 8, in the ballroom audience. The family watched the performances and cheered on the contestants throughout the live show.

Photos from the event showed Justin and Emily smiling and applauding as they watched the dancers take the floor. Emily wore a deep red jacket over a black top, finishing her look with a pendant necklace, while Justin kept things casual in a brown crewneck shirt.

Their daughter, Maiya, also joined in the applause as the family enjoyed the evening.

The Baldonis reportedly attended as special guests of longtime family friend Julianne Hough, who co-hosts the ABC dance competition.

The special episode kicked off with Love Island UK star Maura Higgins and her dance partner, Mark Ballas, performing a tango to Rihanna’s “Only Girl (In the World).”

Their routine took inspiration from the singer’s 2023 Super Bowl halftime performance and earned them 33 out of 40 points.

The outing marked a notable appearance for the Baldoni family after they largely stayed out of the spotlight during Justin’s legal dispute with his It Ends With Us costar Blake Lively.

The case was settled out of court in May, following months of legal proceedings and intense public scrutiny.

Two months later, Justin and Emily addressed the difficult period in a joint social media video, explaining why they had taken so long to speak publicly about their experience.

"Reality is that there’s been a lot of trauma for us to move through as a family, which also makes it hard to speak," the Five Feet Apart star said.

Justin also explained why the couple had remained quiet while the dispute unfolded.

"We have not spoken publicly for the better part of the last two years, and it’s not because we haven’t had anything to say, because Lord knows we have," Justin said of the legal battle.

During the video, the Swedish actress spoke about the appreciation she and her husband felt for the people and experiences that had supported them through the difficult period.

She shared that both of them felt "immense gratitude for so many things and so many people and so many things that have happened to us."

Justin then added a brief but pointed reflection on what had helped them cope, saying, "Gratitude has saved us."

Still, Emily made it clear that feeling thankful did not erase the pain they had experienced.

"I also feel that it’s important as we say that — in that gratitude — it doesn’t negate the injustice and the pain that we have also felt in the last few years, and we’ve had to wrestle with so many things and try to understand so many things," she said.

The legal fight began in 2024, when Lively filed a lawsuit against her It Ends With Us costar and director, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation, among other claims.

The dispute continued after Justin filed a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake, her publicist Leslie Sloane and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. The lawsuit was later dismissed.

In June, a federal judge ordered Justin and his production company to cover Blake's attorney fees related to the dismissed defamation case, according to TheWrap.